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Sunil Gavaskar is regarded as one of the greatest batters of all time. Short in height, but his persona was taller than the tallest of all cricketers. Extremely stylish and absolutely flawless with the bat, Sunil Gavaskar had mastered the art of spending not hours, but days at the crease, with utmost perfection.
A time when the West Indies and Australian pacers were among the most feared cricketers, Gavaskar gave them a tough time by tackling their deliveries with near perfection and frustrating them with his immense skill. One of his greatest attributes was his unflinching attitude, both on and off the field, which he maintains even to this day.
On March 7, in 1987, Sunil Gavaskar became the first cricketer in the world to score 10000 Test runs.
Pakistan were touring India for a five-match Test series. In the fourth Test, Pakistan had posted 395 in their first innings. Ijaz Faqih brought up a century, scoring 105 off 272 deliveries. From India’s side, Shivlal Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, as he bagged four crucial wickets.
In India’s first innings, it was showtime for Gavaskar. He needed 58 runs to reach the 10000-run mark in Test cricket. Regarded as one of the best Test openers of all-time, Gavaskar ensured he reached the coveted milestone. The moment he scored the 58th run of his innings, he celebrated in the realisation of what he had just achieved, much contrary to how he otherwise maintained his guard on the field.
Also, the match had to be halted for a fair amount of time as the crowd erupted and burst onto the playing field to congratulate Gavaskar on his world-class achievement. Gavaskar was eventually dismissed for 63 runs.
Sunil Gavaskar thus became the first man in the world to amass 10000 international Test runs. He scored 10122 runs in Tests at an average of 51.12 with the help of 34 tons and 45 half-centuries.
